


Tomorrow comes too soon [and] the end is in full bloom

by Anonoux



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: And I mean vague, But mostly Keith just is awkwardly clammy throughout this entire thing, First Kiss, Fluff, Galra Keith, Getting Together, Keith heavily pines, Lowkey makeouts, M/M, Sheith Spring Flower Exchange, This is for the, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Very vague mentioning of, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 13:36:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10877865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonoux/pseuds/Anonoux
Summary: Prompt: "Shiro and Keith adorned with flowers in their hair and clothing/armor."





	Tomorrow comes too soon [and] the end is in full bloom

**Author's Note:**

> For [Kyle](https://twitter.com/beastbsns) on Twitter! And for the [Sheith Flower Exchange](https://twitter.com/sheithbouquet) going on!
> 
> Leave it to me to wait until the last day of the deadline to post this - apologies! Finals and schooling have me up to my neck and it was incredibly hard to find time for both that and this, and I kinda had to rush, so I'm sorry if this isn't the best! I plan to go back and fix/edit it soon! For the meantime, I hope you enjoy what I managed to whip up though, even if it isn't my best work! ♡

It started off as a small action.

Simple enough, really. Keith wasn’t even sure Shiro had thought much into it as he did so; a thoughtless action. Though it left Keith both bemused and flustered. 

It was after a mission - a planet that, if you asked Keith what the name of it was, he would have simply blanked out, offering a clueless shrug. The natives of the planets had rejoiced after Voltron had helped saved them, the tiny, green forest dwellers insisting that they stay a night, as to celebrate the success of the mission. Allura, who had an eye out for an alliance with the leader, had agreed after little persuasion.

The celebration itself was pretty simple; an equivalent to a party back at earth, the kind Keith had often heard being discussed at the Garrison, when one risky student would attempt to throw one and within the hour wind up having it crashed by a guard. Though, obviously this one hadn't been crashed, instead, the aliens had passed around some odd concoction in a glass, and judging from the way the aliens reacted to it, their morals becoming looser and the volumes increasing with every few sips, Keith could assume it was a really, really strong equivalent to alcohol. He had accepted the drink gifted to him when they offered, though refused to drink it, instead pouring it in a nearby plant every so often, just so it seemed like he actually did. 

Shiro was on the same boat too.

He noticed Keith’s actions almost immediately, and in return offered a muted smile, leaning over to pour some out too, though, unlike Keith, who kept mainly to himself, the black paladin had made sure to converse with the natives, even going far to helping escort them to guards, who could take them to their rooms after a drink too many. Keith had allowed himself to quietly watch, fingers tapping the exterior of his cup mindlessly as he did so, counting all the people that came Shiro’s way; that had spoken to him and remained talking. At the count of seventeen, Shiro had decided to excuse himself, pushing out of his seat before making his way to the red paladin, a knowing gleam in his eye as he quietly asked if he wanted to take a breather, knowing that Keith’s boredom had him itching to wander around.

Which led them to meandering lazily around the surrounding forest, where various noises had chirped and chimed around them, all under the three moons that shone brightly in the rich purple sky.

“You seemed to be enjoying yourself in there,” Shiro chimes in, a hint of a half-grin on his features, making him look more youthful, like he had back at the Garrison; when the taller had been nearly all smiles. And if Keith wasn't too busy shooting Shiro a glare, he would have stopped to admire the sight for longer.

“Says the one everyone was obsessed with talking to.” A soft laugh, and Keith’s stomach is flip-flopping, offering the nauseating feeling he often got around the other, which only causes his breath to awkwardly hitch and the palms of his hands to get clammy.

“Allura was the one everyone wanted to talk to,” Shiro mused, scratching at his neck, “but the king was talking about teaming with her for an alliance, so they couldn't.”

Keith doesn't reply, instead quietly nudging a rock with his foot, the heavy weight not budging as it remains half buried in the oddly reddened soil, and the red paladin sucks air between his teeth.

“Tulips.”

The word causes Keith’s head to snap up, confusion falling over his visage, ”…What?”

“Those flowers over there. Don't they look like tulips?” Keith squints, following the other’s pointed finger until his eyes land on a small field of flowers, primarily white, though their petals were streaked in various hues of crimson, which was only emphasized under the glow of the moons, and Keith couldn't help but compare them to a lazy stroke of a paintbrush; as though an artist had painted them and couldn't have been bothered to try, simply flicking the brush until it splashed on the whitened petals in every direction. They did actually look like tulips, honestly, aside from the fact that they rose a few feet in the air, easily coming up to their waists in height, which looked odd considering the small size of the buds themselves.

“I guess…” Keith says, trailing off, and he offers a small purse to his lips as he stares. Though it quickly falls into a look of surprise as he watches Shiro jog over to them, the raven’s mouth parting in warning, at how those flowers could be poisonous, or carry something harmful, or--

The words die on his tongue, especially as he watches Shiro practically drown in the flowers, laying back on the bed of them all as though it were a mattress, and he disappears for a few seconds before sitting upright, a small grin on his face and a few petals adorning his hair. And Keith can't find it in himself to be concerned anymore, not with how gleeful the other had looked; as though the entirety of the universe was at on pause - like in that moment there wasn't a Zarkon, or the Galra empire. Like it was just the two of them at this very moment, where Shiro’s forelock glows white in the night, while the rest of his hair bleeds out in the dark background, where shadows cast along sharp features, defining them even further and making dark eyes even darker. Where Keith can't help but find himself unable to breathe for a few moments as he stares at the sight, and he's only snapped out of his reverie as the other beckons him over, Galran hand waving in the air for a moment as Shiro calls out his name, asking him to join him, and Keith can't find it in himself to decline.

With careless steps, Keith walks over, footfalls heavy on soil, though they become lighter as he approaches, not wanting to crush the flowers underneath his feet, almost afraid that it would break the illusion of it all. And, after a bout of hesitance, the red paladin lowers himself down, seating himself next to Shiro and looking up at the sky, the sight of red and white flowers practically glowing in his vision.

No other words are exchanged between them, the noises of the forest filling the comfortable silence between them, and in his peripheral, Keith can see that Shiro’s eyes were closed, a look of serenity on his face as he basks in the tranquil moment that stretches between them.

Minutes pass, hours, maybe, and once Keith finds his breathing falling back into its usual rhythms, his chest rising and falling in regular tandems, does Shiro once against disrupt it, sitting up as he cards fingers through his hair, shaking petals out of his forelock.

“We should head back,” he says, voice a soft sigh as he sounds almost disappointed at his own suggestion, like there isn't anywhere else he'd rather be, and Keith can't help but agree with the undertones of it, despite his nod to Shiro’s words.

Keith takes his time sitting up, and he unceremoniously shakes his head, trying to shake off the petals, and before he knew it, there's a hand in his sights, outstretched and open, and Keith gingerly takes it, allowing himself to be pulled up.

“Oh - wait a sec.” And Shiro is bending down, hesitating for a moment before plucking a faux tulip out from one of the stems that surround them. And suddenly Shiro’s hands are tucking Keith’s messy bangs behind his ear, a flower joining it and holding inky strands in place, and the black paladin takes a few steps back, surveying his work before offering a nod, a muted smile following after. “Better.”

Pink dusts faintly on pale skin, Keith pursing his lips as he suppresses the hue from deepening, and he shifts awkwardly, looking away and down at the flowers for a moment. After a bit he follows Shiro's lead, bending down to grab a flower of his own, before straightening back out as he stands and returns the action by doing the same to the other, the flower resting against Shiro’s ear delicately. Surprise flickers over the black paladin’s face, a few owlish blinks accompanying a slightly agape mouth, and suddenly a chuckle escapes Shiro, rich charcoal-colored eyes flickering in amusement as he shakes his head.

Suddenly another flower is in Keith’s hair, on the other ear, pushing the majority of his hair back from his face and revealing pinkened skin. And then another for Shiro, same location, which only causes him to place another in Keith’s tresses, and another goes in Shiro’s. And suddenly it's a back and forth game, where flowers are tucked away between crevices of their suits and hair and anywhere they can reach, and they only stop when they both catch one another's gaze, the sight of them covered head-to-toe in flowers causing them to snicker, a few of the stems becoming loose and falling to the ground beneath them. More petals and flowers fall as their laughter increases, until Keith’s lungs hurt due to the lack of oxygen in them, and he has to sit back in the bed of tulips, falling back as giggles of laughter escape him, Shiro following after. And as they continue to laugh, Keith’s sharpened teeth poking out from under his lips, which the red paladin finds himself usually conscious of, but at the moment he couldn't care less, enjoying the sight of Shiro able to be unabashed around Keith, able to laugh and goof off and be himself, and he finds himself grinning slightly, holding a hand up to shield it slightly as he rests his arms over his eyes, laughter gradually dying off and turning into peaceful silence as smiles continue to adorn their features.

The sound of them catching their breath is the only thing that fills the quiet between them for a while, until there's rustling from Shiro, and from the sliver of the world that he can see from under his arms, a shadow casts over him.

“Your teeth are showing,” Shiro muses softly, and Keith drops his arms, watching the other hold his human hand mid-air, as though Shiro wanted to touch them, but wasn't sure how to really go about it. Quietly, he opts to just drop it, staring at Keith’s mouth for a moment, to which Keith takes advantage of the close proximity of the two to instead flicker his gaze over Shiro’s own features, taking in every small mark and imperfection, be it a small blemish or scar, until his eyes trail up, locking with the other’s - mauve meeting grey. There's a moment of standstill between them; breathing stilling, mouths parted, and there's absolute silence that fills the air between them, even the forest ceasing in the various noises that had rung out before them, and they're caught, lost in one another’s gazes which tell everything yet nothing at the same time. Eyes which burn like ember and eyes that Keith can't help but find himself drowning in. And so, Keith does the most logical thing he can think of.

He kisses Shiro.

And everything seemingly speeds up again.

Keith’s heartbeat, his breathing - _their_ breathing - everything. The air that blows against their skin, and the forest arounds them. Clammy hands that become even clammier, drenched nearly at this point as they lay stiff, hung between the both of their bodies. But the most prominent thing that speeds up is the feel of Shiro’s lips pressing against Keith’s own, kissing back slowly, hesitantly, before speeding up, a languid action that causes the red paladin to feel as though his body was heating up, burning under Shiro, and it's a feeling that lingers for a long while as they both attempt to say what they've kept quiet about, spilling one another’s emotions into the kiss, attempting to get their pent up feelings across.

The kiss lasts a while, starting from slow, coaxing movements that gradually lead to near eager, yet still slow; a pace that Shiro had set, and it left them both near breathless, one of Shiro’s arms leaning against the ground next to Keith’s head, propping himself up, while the other winds itself around Keith’s waist, pulling him closer, closer, until they're pressed up to one another, hardly any space between them. And by the time they pull away, they're both breathless, panting softly against one another’s swollen lips as they press their foreheads against one another. Dilated pupils reveal themselves as their gazes lock, irises a thin slit, and Shiro offers a nervous chuckle, Keith flushing in realization at what they just did.

“We really need to go back now,” Shiro whispers, quietly nudging Keith’s nose with his own, offering a small grin, “Or else they'll get a search party together. You know how Hunk is.” And Keith is nodding, averting his gaze as he agrees, though there's a small, giddy smile on his face, causing a dimple to threaten to reveal itself, and he's gently nudging Shiro.

“You're heavy.” Laughter rings in his ears, leaving Keith to offer a breathless laugh of his own, near silent, as Shiro slowly gets up, outstretching a hand out to hoist the other up for the second time that night.

Though, even after being hoisted up, neither of them actually bother to pull their hands away, nor actually comment on it, instead skirting around the entire thing as Shiro gestures back to the way they came. And through the glowing forests, with tulip-like flowers still adorning various places on their bodies, do they come return to the sound of laughter and music ringing in the air, and, offering a small squeeze to Shiro’s hand, Keith finds himself not wanting to be anywhere else than in that very moment.

**Author's Note:**

> Song that inspired the title: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jRVxLQCgpo
> 
> Feel free to talk to me about Voltron/ships over at [Tumblr.](http://anonoux.tumblr.com/)


End file.
